As we’re about to head into the final month of the year, I thought I’d cap November with a few personal psychedelic ambient and trance favorites, which I’ll attempt to post throughout the remainder of the day.
So for starters, here’s Younger Brother’s “Psychic Gibbon.” I previously posted these guys back at the outset of October, for their single “Train.” So consider this an encore.
“Psychic Gibbon” probably skews more on the downtempo incline of psychedelia, still colorfully kaleidoscopic in scope, yet seemingly steeped in early ’90s alternative melancholia. There’s all types of sonic quirks reminiscent of sister bands Shpongle and Prometheus, which incidentally comprise Younger Brother’s two primary members, Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan, respectively. There’s a guitar bit that sounds like the Cure wandered into their musical musings and dropped a riff or two. And there’s even some vocals from Ruu, a.k.a. Rupert Campbell, that have been tweaked into childlike innocence, almost feminine in nature.
I find this track, in particular, to be Younger Brother’s most successful meshing of curated influences, spanning old-school alternative to free-range psychedelia to modern electronica. There’s a little bit of Pink Floyd, some Ozric Tentacles, pepperings of pop, and textures of ambient trance. And of course, the aforementioned Cure homage.
Ultimately, “Psychic Gibbon” feels like a closer. It’s moody and meditative. It’s a little trippy and trance-induced, yet chill enough for the come down. It’s how I’d end a long day that’s seen the morning light. So it’s probably appropriate that it’s here to help conclude November. Here ya’ go.
“Psychic Gibbon” from the 2007 album “The Last Days of Gravity.”
